Message from the Chair
&
Executive Director
Kathleen M. Foley, MD (USA)
Liliana De Lima, MHA (USA)
Dear readers:
Last month we sent a message of support and solidarity to the victims of hurricane Katrina. Several days ago another hurricane hit the Gulf Coast of the USA . The IAHPC Board of Directors, officers and staff members express their deepest condolences to all the victims and their families who lost loved ones and to all those injured by these devastating hurricanes. In the wake of these disasters, we remember the terminally ill patients who had to evacuate from their homes and inpatient units. We are glad that IAHPC has been able to help locate hospice care providers and inpatient facilities for many evacuated patients and their families, and we will continue providing help and support while they need it.
As we announced last month, IAHPC is calling for nominations for six seats to the IAHPC Board of Directors. IAHPC Members are encouraged to send in nominations of palliative care and hospice care leaders with demonstrated interest in the development of international palliative care initiatives and issues.
Candidates may be located in any country and have various professional backgrounds (medical, nursing, psychology, social work, administrative, policy, chaplaincy, etc) and must fulfill the following criteria:
1. Both nominee and nominator must be active members of the IAHPC
2. Have demonstrated work and commitment in palliative/hospice care in his/her field
3. Be a recognized leader and currently holding a senior position within a hospice, hospital, palliative care/hospice organization or any other entity
4. Have demonstrated willingness to participate and work in the board activities
5. Have demonstrated interest in international palliative and hospice care issues 6. Be able to communicate effectively in English
7. Candidates must have access to the Internet and hold an active e-mail account as most Board discussions and votes are carried out via e-mail.
Each member can only nominate one candidate. Deadline for nominations is October 30th, 2005. To submit a nomination, please send a copy of the CV of the candidate, plus a brief paragraph describing how the candidate meets the criteria via e-mail to the office of the Executive Director at [email protected] The new Directors will be announced in early December and their terms will begin in January 2006.
We encourage members to recommend candidates from countries around the world and from various disciplines. Candidates and nominators both need to be active IAHPC members. If you are not a current member, we invite you to join IAHPC and participate in this important process. To join IAHPC, click here
We are happy to announce that we are also now accepting nominations for the IAHPC Awards in three categories:
1. Individual - Vittorio Ventafridda Award for Individuals who have demonstrated leadership in palliative care and have had a significant impact in the provision of palliative care in their communities and regions.
2. Institutional Award: For institutions (hospitals, clinics, hospices) that have implemented a successful and comprehensive palliative care program to meet the needs of the patients in the relevant community
3. University Award: For academic hospitals, teaching institutions and universities that have implemented formal palliative care programs as part of the undergraduate or graduate levels in either nursing or medicine.
To apply, please go to www.hospicecare.com and click on IAHPC Programs, then select Recognition Awards Program. You will see the guidelines for application.
Each category has a prize of US $2,000. Deadline for applications is December 31st, 2005. Winners will be announced early February 2006.
We look forward to receiving your applications.
The World Hospice and Palliative Care Day - October 8th - is approaching. One of the objectives of celebrating this Day is to bring palliative care to the attention of governments and policy makers around the world. We invite you to sign the petition found in http://www.worldday.org/petition.asp and become involved in activities in your country to celebrate this important event. IAHPC has provided grants to programs in Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Philippines, Argentina, Moldova, India, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela to support concerts, symposiums, conferences, art exhibitions, choirs and many others. We look forward to receiving their reports and photos of these events to include in our next Newsletter.
We are glad to announce that IAHPC has endorsed the US National Consensus Project: Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care. The Guidelines were developed for the US , but may serve as a model for initiatives in other countries of the world. The Guidelines establish a uniformly accepted set of standards for developing new definitions of palliative care; set standards for developing new palliative care initiatives and improving existing programs; set goals regarding patient access to palliative care, and foster continuity of palliative care across diverse health care settings. They are described in another section of this Newsletter and can be accessed through our IAHPC website under the Resources Section in http://www.hospicecare.com/standards/
This month we awarded two new IAHPC Traveling Scholarships to outstanding individuals from developing countries:
- Dr. CV Prasanth from the Palliative Care Division at the Regional Cancer Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, India, to support a three month fellowship in palliative care at the National Cancer Institute in Singapore.
- Dr. Natalia Carifizi, senior medical coordinator of Hospice Service and Executive Director of the National Association of Palliative Care in Chisinau, Moldova, to participate in the postgraduate international course for palliative care at the Budapest Hospice House in Hungary.
We are proud to be able to sponsor committed individuals like Doctors Prasanth and Carifizi and hope that our support will translate into better care for the patients in their regions and communities. We also look forward to their reports after they return.
We are very grateful to the individuals and organizations who have donated throughout this year and thus enabled us to help many around the world. Since this organization started, we have been able to support more than 400 programs and individuals with our grants and donations. Please consider donating to IAHPC, joining or renewing your membership to IAHPC - it will help us continue helping patients, families and health care providers around the world.
Until next month,
Kathy Foley, MD
Chair, Board of Directors |
Liliana De Lima, MHA
Executive Director |
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© 2005 IAHPC Press 
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